Senate Bill 2698

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-7-203, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972,
TO PROVIDE THAT THE TRUSTEES OF MUNICIPAL SEPARATE SCHOOL DISTRICTS SHALL BE
ELECTED FROM SPECIAL TRUSTEE ELECTION DISTRICTS BY THE QUALIFIED ELECTORS OF
SUCH DISTRICT; TO PROVIDE THAT SUCH ELECTION SHALL BE HELD EVERY FOUR YEARS IN
THE SAME MANNER AS ELECTIONS ARE HELD FOR OTHER MUNICIPAL OFFICERS; TO AMEND
SECTION 37-7-703, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE TRUSTEES OF
SPECIAL MUNICIPAL SEPARATE SCHOOL DISTRICTS SHALL BE ELECTED IN THE SAME MANNER
AS TRUSTEES OF MUNICIPAL SEPARATE SCHOOL DISTRICTS; TO REPEAL SECTIONS 37-7-705
THROUGH 37-7-717, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDE CERTAIN METHODS FOR
SELECTING TRUSTEES OF SPECIAL MUNICIPAL SEPARATE SCHOOL DISTRICTS; TO REPEAL
SECTIONS 37-7-209 THROUGH 37-7-219, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDE
CERTAIN METHODS FOR ELECTING TRUSTEES OF MUNICIPAL SEPARATE SCHOOL DISTRICTS
FROM ADDED TERRITORY; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

37-7-203.
(1) The boards of trustees of
all municipal separate school districts created under the provisions of Article
1 of this chapter, either with or without added territory, shall consist of
five (5) members * * *. On the first Tuesday after the first
Monday in June, and every four (4) years thereafter, an election shall be held
in each municipal separate school district in this state, in the same manner
and at the same time as the regular municipal elections are held, for the
purpose of electing the members of the boards of trustees established under the
provisions of this article. All members
of the boards of trustees as herein constituted shall take office on the first
Monday of July following the date of their election and shall serve for a term
of four (4) years. The five (5) members
of the board of trustees of such school district shall be elected from special
trustee election districts by the qualified electors thereof, as herein
provided. The governing authorities of
such municipality shall apportion the municipal separate school district,
including added territory, into five (5) special trustee election districts as nearly
equal as possible according to population, incumbency and other factors
heretofore pronounced by the courts.
The municipal governing authority shall place upon its minutes the
boundaries determined for the new five (5) trustee election districts. The municipal governing authority shall thereafter
publish the same in a newspaper of general circulation within said school
district for at least three (3) consecutive weeks; and after having given
notice of publication and recording the same upon the minutes of the municipal
governing authority, such new district lines shall thereafter be
effective. All incumbent trustees
holding office at the time of the creation of such trustee election districts
shall continue holding their respective offices, provided they reside within
the new district, for the remainder of the term of office to which they have
heretofore been selected, and their successors shall be elected from the new
trustee election districts constituted herein in the manner provided for in
this section.

(2)
Vacancies in the membership of the board of trustees of any municipal
separate school district shall be filled by appointment, within sixty (60) days
after the vacancy occurs, by the governing authorities of such
municipality. Such appointee shall be
selected from the qualified electors of the district in which the vacancy
occurs. The president of the municipal
governing authority shall certify to the Secretary of State the fact of the
appointment, and the person so appointed shall be commissioned by the Governor;
and if the unexpired term be longer than six (6) months, such appointee shall
serve until a successor is elected as hereinafter provided, unless the vacancy
shall occur before ninety (90) days prior to the general election in a year in
which an election would normally be held for that office as provided by law, in
which case the person so appointed shall serve the unexpired portion of the
term. Such vacancies shall be filled
for the unexpired term by the qualified electors at the next regular special
election day occurring more than ninety (90) days after the occurrence of the
vacancy. The president of the municipal
governing authority shall, within ten (10) days after the happening of the
vacancy, make an order, in writing, directed to the commissioners of election,
commanding an election to be held on the next regular special election day to
fill the vacancy. The election commissioners shall require each candidate to
qualify at least sixty (60) days before the date of the election, and shall
give a certificate of election to the person elected, and shall return to the
Secretary of State a copy of the order of holding the election showing the
results thereof, certified by the president of the municipal governing
authority. Such election shall be held
in the same manner provided for other municipal office vacancies. The person elected shall be commissioned by
the Governor.

Provided, however, where only one (1)
person shall have qualified with the commissioners of election to be a
candidate within the time provided by law, the commissioners of election shall
certify to the municipal governing authority that there is but one (1)
candidate. Thereupon, the municipal
governing authority shall dispense with the election and shall appoint the
candidate so certified to fill the unexpired term. The president of the municipal governing authority shall certify
to the Secretary of State the candidate so appointed to serve in such office
and that candidate shall be commissioned by the Governor. In the event that no
person shall have qualified at least sixty (60) days prior to the date of the
election, the commissioners of election shall certify that fact to the
municipal governing authority which shall dispense with the election and fill
the vacancy by appointment. The
president of the municipal governing authority shall certify to the Secretary
of State the fact of the appointment, and the person so appointed shall be
commissioned by the Governor.

37-7-703.
In all such special municipal separate school districts * * *, the board of
trustees of such special municipal separate school district shall be elected
in the manner provided by subsection (1) of Section 37-7-203, and all of the
provisions thereof shall be fully applicable in all respects to the selection
and constitution of such board of trustees.

SECTION
5. The Attorney General of the
State of Mississippi shall submit this act, immediately upon approval by the
Governor, or upon approval by the Legislature subsequent to a veto, to the Attorney
General of the United States or to the United States District Court for the
District of Columbia in accordance with the provisions of the Voting Rights Act
of 1965, as amended and extended.

SECTION
6. This act shall take effect and
be in force from and after the date it is effectuated under Section 5 of the
Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended.